Hayate The Combat Butler, ReVerse!
by geororo
Summary: Hayate thought he had everything. A cute little sister who dotes on him and loving parents; all in all, a happy family. However, everything came crashing down when he was abandoned by the very family who loved him. As he tries to rebuild his shattered life, will he be able to find solace in his newfound friends? Or will he face despair and disappointment yet again?


Chapter 1: Wines & Dacquoise

"Asa dayo, onii-chan. Okite kudasai." The bright morning sunlight poured into the room as my ears caught the faint noise of the curtains being opened. Instinctively, I pulled the thick woollen blanket over my head to block out the blinding sunlight and carried on with my sleep.

"Mou~" The owner of the voice moaned, clearly vexed by her unsuccessful effort to wake me up. Being persistent however, she resorted to pulling my blanket away. "Hayaku nii-nii. Okite kudasai." Her strength was no match to mine as her pull felt no more than a slight tug to me. After a few more tries, she gave up and left me alone to my slumber. Or so I thought.

It wasn't long before my chest suddenly became heavy and I had to put up a struggle just to take a breath. I instantly pulled the blanket covering my face and found myself surprised by what I discover. A little girl with long golden hair, tied in a ribbon along with two ringlet curls in the front was seated on my chest. She wore a yellow dress that complements her appearance perfectly. The little girl was smiling and her smile was reflected in her bright red iris. "O-hai-yo, Hayate nii-nii," greeted the girl cheerfully, with her head tilted to a side.

"Ohaiyo, A-tan." I said to her in return. With my right hand, I reached out to her head and began to caress her silky hair. She writhed for a moment, trying to avoid my hand but her giggle gave it away. She was actually liking it. "What brings you here today?"

"Mou~" the girl pushed my hand away coyly. "I've told you before, don't call me A-tan; my name's Alice." The girl leapt from my bed onto the floor and scurried off to the nightstand. "Anyway, I made you this." Alice beamed as she brought a covered plate to my lap. "Go ahead, open it."

I was pleasantly surprised to find out about what she was presenting to me. It was a tiny, round-shaped cake placed on a white doily. With a cherry on top, it gave off a cutesy appearance.

To tell the truth, I was amazed at how much she has improved in her baking skills. It was barely a fortnight ago when she baked a vanilla cake for the family – which looks like a charred, brownie-like sustenance from outer space. As for its taste, let's just say it had some very 'interesting' flavours.

"I made a dacquoise for you, nii-nii." Alice bent forward before placing a cake fork that was neatly wrapped inside a silk napkin beside me. "It took me a few tries to get it right; now that I've perfected it, I'll name it 'Le Dacquoise De Alice'!" The little blonde exclaimed proudly. "Oh, by the way, you're the first person to try this recipe, so please finish it up and tell me if it's good, okay?"

The idea of being a lab rat for her experiments does not sound very attractive to me; an idea, which was made even less appealing after my experience with her 'vanilla' cake. Although I really, desperately wanted to voice my protest, she had already made her move by slicing the cake into smaller pieces before offering it to me. "Now, open wide and say aaahn~"

Of course, I instinctively leaned forward and opened my mouth before realising that I've made a terrible mistake. A voice suddenly popped inside mind. _"This is it Hayate; your last chance to turn away from this. Just tell her you need to go to the bathroom or something. You don't have to do this."_

The notion suggested by the voice was indeed tempting. However, after seeing Alice's eyes glinting with hope, I failed to find the strength to disappoint her and almost literally, shoved the fork into my mouth with my eyes closed in resignation.

* * *

The blue-haired teenager was frozen in his place. His lifeless eyes were staring blankly into space while his breathing ceased entirely. After waiting for a whole minute, the excitement felt by the little girl suddenly turned into panic. "Hayate nii-nii, are you alright?" Alice asked worriedly.

Realising how her calls went unheard, she grabbed the teenager's shoulders and shook him frantically while calling out his name. Fortunately for her, Hayate soon began to blink his eyes as he regained his consciousness.

In response, Alice pinched the teenager's cheeks as hard as her strength would allow her to. She was annoyed by the thought that the teenager had made her worried about him. Hayate, with teary eyes, begged for apology from the six-year-old.

After the two settled down from their little squabble, the teenager, still rubbing his swollen cheek, commented about the cake he just had. "I'm surprised, Alice-chan. The cake you made just now was so amazing that it felt like I was in a whole new world of sugary sweetness. The taste was like when mankind discovered curry for the first time or eating watermelons after a long day in the beach in summer." Hayate said to Alice, throwing in a few exaggerations to win her favour back.

"H-Hontou ni!?"

"Mm-hm," Hayate nodded enthusiastically, "it's really delicious."

Alice cheered in joy. The blue-haired teenager could not help himself but to smile with her. He had always loved how cute the little blonde looks like whenever she smiles. "That was the best cake I've ever had in my life. Both you and Sonia-san really did it this time."

The cheerful atmosphere however, came to an abrupt end when Alice suddenly crossed her arms across her chest, puffed her cheeks and pouted angrily. She then turned her face away from the teenager with a humph. Realising he had said something wrong to the little girl, Hayate tried to figure out the mistake he had made.

"Eh? Did I say something wrong?"

"…" The little girl gave him no response but he could catch silent murmurs coming from the girl. "…saying Sonia helping me… Hayate no baka…"

"Does that mean that Sonia-san didn't help you out?" Alice gave him a sidelong glance followed by another disdainful humph. Hayate finally understood her reaction and decided to console her. However, that was not before he remembered something important.

"Gomen, but wouldn't the kitchen be-"

Before the teenager could even finish his sentence, an ear-piercing scream filled the entire mansion. Both the teenager and the little blonde were petrified, their faces turned as white as sheet. The two looked at each other before gulping in fear. It seems like Alice had forgotten about a little side story that happened in the vanilla cake episode.

* * *

Two weeks ago…

_Sonia Shaflnarz shuffled into the mansion wearily. It was a long and rough day for her. She had started working on her chores around the mansion well before the sun rises and it is already evening. The young Italian maid was looking forward to her well-deserved break in the pantry with some ramen and fruit parfait she had prepared earlier._

_Sonia entered through the servant's door into the kitchen, nearly drooling from dreaming about the justice she was about to carry out to her meal when she suddenly stepped on something wet and sticky on the floor. "That's odd," said the maid to herself, "I'm sure I've mopped the floor clean when I was in the kitchen just now."_

_The maid opened her eyes and found herself refusing to believe what she is seeing with her eyes. She blinked a few times and even wiped her glasses, thinking that it was the smudge that was messing with her sight. But no, her glasses were spotlessly clean, being the perfectionist she is. The blue-haired maid lifted her foot slowly and found her shoe dirtied by some thick, white soup. A quick whiff later and she identified the fluid as a batter of flour, butter and eggs. As she averted her gaze, she began to realise the magnitude of the situation._

_The same fluid that had dirtied her shoe was practically splattered throughout the kitchen she was once so proud of. The walls and counters that used to be unblemished and polished to perfection are now blotched with the batter. The waste bins are overfilled with packets of flours, butter wrappings, egg shells and whatnot. Meanwhile, the sinks are overflowing due to the unclosed taps and clogged drains. _

_Sonia was only a few steps towards a huge pile of broken dishware when a few drops of gooey liquid trickled onto her head. She merely touched the cold liquid before she looked upwards and saw the egg yolks sticking on the ceiling._

_At that very moment, the other entrance to the kitchen opens and a little blonde dressed in a frilly apron appears. White blots of flour could be seen clearly everywhere on her clothes, face, and even hair. She was holding a food bowl with one hand and a dessert plate on the other - both of them empty. To top it off, the young Italian maid could clearly see a string of noodle trailing off from the little girl's lips._

_The blonde was not expecting anyone to be in the kitchen on such a late hour and the maid was the last person she would like to meet in the middle of the chaotic mess. Out of surprise, the bowl and the dessert plate slipped from her hand and fell to the floor with a loud crash which was quickly replaced by the sudden silence that fills the entire room._

"_Oops…"  
_

* * *

Hayate peeked through the door and confirmed that no one else is coming near his room before turning back to Alice to give her the thumbs up. The little girl grinned and dashed for the door. Alice knew that if she could run fast enough, she would be spared from the maid's wrath. Her plan was simple – hide in one of the many vacant rooms in the mansion and wait until the maid calms down.

"Ouch!" The little blonde cried as she fell to the floor. It seems like she had bumped into something when she went past the door. As she slowly tilted her head upwards, she began to see the cause of her fall.

"How many times have I told you, ojou-sama? You mustn't run in the hallway." Sonia said to the girl in a motherly tone. Although she had a cheerful façade, her eyes were piercing mercilessly into the little blonde's, rendering her helplessly motionless.

The maid went on her knees and helped Alice to stand up again before dusting her shoulders off some flour that had dirtied her dress. She then ushered the little girl out of the room. "Don't forget that we'll be having an Italian language class in 10 minutes, okay?"

Sonia watched the little blonde shuffling to the end of the hallway. Before she disappeared into the corner, Alice turned towards Sonia and stuck her tongue out defiantly. "Mes affaires font mal au cul!" With that bold statement, she ran off; without a doubt finding a place to hide while skipping her lessons with the maid.

Sonia sighed deeply. Sometimes she wondered why the blonde would even bother hiding from her. As a servant whom had worked for the family for years, she knew practically every nook and cranny of the mansion and the area surrounding it. "That girl really need to be taught some manner…" The maid shook her head in submission before turning to the blue-haired teenager.

"Hmm? Are you still in bed this late in the morning? Usually you would have been up earlier than anyone else in this mansion. Are you ill, Hayate-san?"

"Ah, no…" Said hayate as he rubbed his head before bowing down apologetically, "I'm sorry if I've troubled you, Sonia. I guess I overslept a bit today. Anyway, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Hmm..." The maid pondered upon the question for a moment before she responded. "Well, I've taken care of the house and garden, but I still need to get some flour and other ingredients for dinner," Hayate noticed her eyes twitched for a moment there but the maid had retained an overall neutral expression, "so, if you don't mind, can you please go to the town and buy the groceries for me? I'll prepare a list and the money for it when you're ready."

* * *

"Let's see now… some tonkatsu sauce, kosher salt, cayenne pepper and…" the teenager hummed as he went through the list on him, "oh, curry powder huh? I think I can find that in one of the stores here."

Hayate scanned the area around him for a place to buy the last item on his list, but to no avail. Although he was quite sure that he was in the Ginnan shopping street he was quite familiar with moments ago, somehow, he had found himself in a totally different area, one that he had never been to before.

Teashops and cafés lined the street he was at; most of them painted in bright colours which gives the street a light and calming air. The atmosphere however, was severely dulled by the surprising lack of people in the area. To top it off, all the shops there were already closed even though it was barely afternoon at that time. It was almost like people had left and entirely forgot about the place.

Hayate continued his walk down the street with hope that he could find someone to show him the directions around the place. Unfortunately for him, the place truly was deserted and there wasn't even a soul in the vicinity. Just as he was about to give up, a small, open sign displayed in one of the shops there caught his attention. The blue-haired then walked over to the shop to have a closer look.

At a distance, the red-brick themed shop looked fairly plain and not much different than any other premises in the surrounding area. However, being the only café that is actually open made Hayate to keep his hopes up that he would find someone that could help him with his way there. As he drew closer, he could see a modestly sized sign hung above the canopy at the entrance written 'Café Donguri'. _"That must be the name of this café. I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a look."_

A bell chimed as he made his entrance to the shop, notifying the occupants inside about his presence. "Oh, a customer. Irashai~" A warm welcome greeted Hayate as he enters the patronless café which came from a girl who was wiping a table nearby. He instantly deduced the girl to be an employee of the café from the apron worn by her.

The girl wore a simple t-shirt and a pair of tracksuit bottoms as well as a pair of sneakers which completes her attire. She had a slim, athletic figure and an energetic gait that would be an envy to girls of her age (despite being slightly scant in the chest department). The most striking feature possessed by the girl, however, was her hair. Her long, beautiful hair was the colour of pink that flows gently every time she moves.

Hayate was simply fascinated by the sight before him. Her stunning looks, her confident smile, and her brilliant eyes had caught him unprepared. Hayate had almost completely forgotten the reason he was there in the first place. "Ano… would you like to have a seat? You may sit anywhere you want."

"O-okay." The blue-haired responded sheepishly before taking his place at the bar. That was very unbecoming of him to be caught off-guard by a girl.

The pink-haired girl offered him a menu before bowing down slightly and left him to consider his order. Hayate took the chance and observed the shop.

If you're looking for somewhere posh and classy to bring your girlfriend out for a date, you better start looking for somewhere else. Café Donguri does not exactly fit into any one of it. The café, however, does have this certain calming air that some people would enjoy and appreciate. One could almost forget about his or her worries as soon as entering the establishment. Although there were nothing fancy about the place, Café Donguri does have its own charm. The furniture of the joint were well-chosen and the lightly-coloured wallpaper was just nice to the eyes. Soothing music could be heard in the background and the service was nothing short of excellence. In a nutshell, Café Donguri is a unique café in its own class that does not require any over-the-top attractions to appeal to its customers.

Hayate was about to raise his hand to call for the waitress when a booming voice shook the building. "What? You don't sell sukiyaki here!?"

The blue-haired turned his head slowly and tried to find the source of the voice from the corner of his eyes. From what he could gather, the girl is now serving a group of mean-looking men who were demanding something from her. Considering the situation, it might be wise for him to stay out of the issue.

"There should be sukiyaki in all cafes. Sukiyaki!" shouted one of the men.

"With plenty of negi!" added the second.

"Yeah, yeah!" the third man agrees with his friends.

The pink-haired girl rubbed her head before bowing apologetically to them. "I'm really sorry, but we don't sell that here. Besides, it's not even the season for it yet."

"How dare you insult sukiyaki!? Every season is sukiyaki season!"

"Yeah, if you won't give us what we want, we'll-" the men suddenly became silent and started sniffing around. "Eh?"

"Here you go." Hayate bent forward and places a huge bowl of steaming soup. "Sukiyaki with extra negi, right? Douzo."

The three men immediately began digging into their meal. Hayate smiled upon seeing the look of satisfaction on their faces while the pink-haired girl could only stare in astonishment at him. "H-how did…"

"I mixed some of the ingredients you have in the kitchen with the ones that I've bought just now to prepare the sukiyaki. I apologise for not asking for your permission to use them though." Hayate turned to the crowd and inquired to them like any good waiter would. "May I get anything else for you, sirs?"

* * *

"Here you go." The pink-haired girl said to him with a smile. "We only make three of these per day. Think of it as my way of thanking you for helping out just now." She returned to her position behind the counter and was amused by the teenager's reaction. "Don't worry about it, it's on the house. Go ahead, try it and tell me if it's good."

Hayate looked at the cake and for some reason, felt rather embarrassed about accepting her gift. It was only natural for him to offer his help to anyone who might be needing it and he did not expect for anything in return. The girl could only sigh over Hayate's reluctance. "You know, I made that cake myself earlier today. It's actually a very rude thing to turn down other people's gift without a good reason."

"O-oh… I didn't mean to be rude. I'm sorry." Said Hayate as he rubs the back of his head apologetically. "Well then, ittadakimasu." The blue-haired teenager lifts his fork and slices a small portion from the cake before feeding it to his mouth. He held the cake in his mouth for a moment, savouring its flavour before swallowing it. Hayate lets out a sigh, feeling contented. "Ah… that was delicious."

"I'm glad you liked it. It's called the majorlaine, but some would call it as the dacquoise."

The teenager chuckle in response. "This is the second time today I had people offering me to try their dacquoise." He took another slice from the cake and nodded towards her. "Thank you. You must be really good at making cakes."

"Heh, that's nothing." The pink-haired girl said proudly. "Ah, where are my manners. I still don't know your name. Katsura Hinagiku." She held a hand out and gave him a warm smile. "And you are?"

"… Hayate."

* * *

"It's been a while since I've last had your world-famous panzanella, hasn't it, Hayate-kun?" The man wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin before he proceeded to his wine. As he took his first sip, he closed his eyes, enjoying the taste spreading throughout his mouth. "Ah, it seems like you've done your homework too. The Moscato d'Asti; I couldn't have picked a better wine to pair with your panzanella and zabaglione." He nodded approvingly to his butler's choice of wine.

"You're flattering me, goshujin-sama. If anyone, it's you who should receive all the compliments. After all, I learnt from the very best." The blue-haired butler bowed humbly as he returned the praise to his master.

"My my, look at you, Hayate. You've become such a smooth talker now, haven't you?" The lady across the chuckled gently before having a taste at the dessert served before her. "Oh, and such an excellent baker too. Tell me, Hayate-kun, where did you learn to make such a dacquoise? It's really good."

"A-ta… I mean, Alice made that earlier today and she called it 'Le Dacquoise De Alice'. It's too bad that she's already asleep though. And she was so excited that you two would be home today too."

The lady lets out a sigh and smiled weakly. "Is that so…" The sudden change in atmosphere in the room was clearly obvious. For a moment, they were chatting merrily while partaking their supper, but now, the atmosphere has become somewhat colder and icy. The butler instantly realised that he might have had done something to offend his mistress. But before he could even react to it, the lady stood up and left the hall. "Thanks for the meal, Hayate…" the lady said faintly as the door closes behind her.

The young butler was left feeling rather guilty and uncertain of what he had done. His instincts told him that he should chase after his mistress and apologise to her, but to tell the truth, he had no idea what exactly should he apologise for. Nonetheless, he felt that that was the right thing to do.

"Hayate."

"H-hai? Goshujin-sama?" The butler was surprised to have his name called. He had nearly forgotten that there was another person in the hall with him. Hayate turned to his back and found himself looking into the face of his master. The man was already holding him by the shoulders at that moment.

"Have a seat."

"Eeh?"

The man laughs at his butler's reaction and prompted him to the chair. "C'mon, I have something to show you." He pulled a chair for the teenager before taking another one for himself. "Charlotte is going to give me hell if she finds out about this." He said to the blue-haired teenager with a mischievous smile on his face. Suddenly he stopped and turned around, looking for the maid. "Ah, I almost forgot. You're dismissed, Sonia. I'll call for you if I need anything."

"As you wish, goshujin-sama." The maid bows down and turned to the servant's door.

The man waited until he was certain that his maid had left the room before he reached out to a secret compartment under his place at the table (one that Hayate had accidentally stumbled upon when he was cleaning the hall) and pulled out a bottle and two wineglasses from the crevice. "Ah, here we go. Château Lafite Rothschild. One for me…" He pours the content of the bottle into a glass. "And one for you." Said the man as he fills the second glass.

"B-but... goshujin-sama, I'm still a minor. I can't-"

"Oh, stop being such a Goody Two-shoes, Hayate." The man felt slightly irritated at the butler's self-consciousness. "You can drop the formalities now. From now on, let's talk from one man to another, shall we? And you should be used to calling me by my name, instead of referring me as 'master', okay?"

"O-okay, Mr. Charles." Answered Hayate half-heartedly. He was rather surprised by his master's sudden change in attitude.

"Mr. Charles eh… well, that'll do I guess." He smiled brightly and raised his glass for a toast. "For the best butler and friend a family could possibly ask for." Hayate stole a glance at the face of his employer for a moment. The man does not appear to be angry or disappointed as he had somehow hoped for. Instead, he looked the exact opposite of it. He was smiling so broadly that his cheeks became flushed. Could he possibly be drunk?

A clang fills the room before the two took a sip from their respective glasses. "Mm… now this is what I'd call a wine. The Rothschilds sure know their thing." He turns his attention to the teenager and gave him a smile. "For a person who is well on his way to become an excellent wine connoisseur, I'm sure you can appreciate the exquisite taste of this wine, can't you, Hayate?" Charles swirled the liquid in his glass, aerating the wine which in turns intensifies the aroma coming from the wine before he took another sip. "Say… what's the date today?"

The young butler glanced at his watch. It tells him that the time is 2.30 a.m. "It's the 25th of December today, sir."

"Ah… I see. That would've explained the cake I saw earlier in the kitchen. Time sure flies when you're busy at work, doesn't it?" Charles sighed deeply as he sunk into his chair. "I've almost forgotten about our little girl's birthday…" The man rubs his head and breaths out another sigh. "And to think that we've made a promise to go out and look for her birthday present together…"

"Mr. Charles, it's not your-" Hayate was halted in mid-sentence when his master raised his hand, signalling that he has more to say.

"Tell me, Hayate. Do you know what your mistress and I do for a living?"

"Eh? Uhh…" The young servant pondered upon the question for a few moments before he finally gave his answer. "Umm… if I'm not mistaken, Miss Charlotte is a banker. As for you, Mr. Charles… I think you're a politician, am I right?"

Charles laughed at the teenager's answer. "Close, my boy, but no cigar. It's true that I am a politician, an MP in fact, but as for my wife, she…" the man paused for a moment, "Baroness Charlotte Henriette de Rothschild. As the only heiress to the Rothschild family, she is the de facto chairperson of the Paris Orléans SCA, and ultimately the head of The Rothschild Group." Finishing the last sip of wine, Charles puts his glass down and smiled weakly at the blue-haired butler. "As you've seen, working as a politician or being the owner of the world's largest financial entity would make you a terrible parent. You don't have to sugar-coat it, Hayate. We know how things really are. Charlotte and I haven't been around our daughter as often as we'd like; we were never really there when she needed us. And to be honest, both of us perfectly understand if our daughter hates us one day – for failing in our duties as parents to raise her."

"Mr. Charles!" Hayate banged his fist on the table, "you shouldn't say things like that. We both know how much Alice loves you and Miss Charlotte. She may just be a child, but I'm sure that she understands your situation." The Eurasian stared at him in surprise. Hayate, realising that he had just scolded his master turns red from embarrassment and sat down quietly. "I-I'm sorry for my misbehaviour... sir."

"Thank you, Hayate." Said Charles in response. He was beaming at the teenager. "That's very kind of you. But I… we only want the best for her." Charles reached out and held Hayate by his shoulders. "You've always been like the son we never had." The man breathes in deeply and turned his gaze to the family portrait hung beside them. He could clearly remember the day when the portrait was made five years ago.

Back then, Alice was just an infant who would cry all day and night, no matter what he and his wife do to calm her down. But when she saw Hayate for the first time, Alice immediately stopped crying. They both decided to let Hayate cradle their little girl and from that day, the two became even closer. It seems to them that Alice had some sort of an attachment to the blue-haired Japanese.

"Alice loves you, doesn't she? You're like a brother to her…" The man sighs. "I'm sorry if we had ever wronged you before, Hayate." Charles clears his throat and threw his gaze at the teenage butler. "It pains me greatly for having to say this to you, and I truly am sorry for it, but you have to leave, Hayate."

"Huh? What do you mean, Mr. Charles?"

"You're fired."

* * *

A/N: It's been well over eight months since I've last penned anything, so to be honest, I quite certain that my skills have dulled considerably. As such, I humbly beg you, my dear readers, to provide me with constructive criticism so that I may write something worthy of your time.


End file.
